We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eden Dozier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eden below.
Eden, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Well, I have figuratively died many deaths during this lifetime, and choosing to look at things or behave as though things are on the up and up has served me more than the pessimism in those lives that I led previously, and got me here to this iteration of me.
Perhaps willful naivety, wishful thinking, or rose-colored glasses, wherever it comes from, ultimately, it’s important for me to feel as though I am contributing a higher wavelength to the collective consciousness, so to speak, and I feel that that partially comes from being optimistic.
Having said all that, I actually consider myself to be more of a realist than an optimist, but to that point, quantumly speaking, for one real thought or idea to exist, the exact opposite must also exist. So if that idea or thought is a dark or pessimistic one, why not leave room for the optimistic opposite outcome to exist and hope for the best?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I heard this term, “multi-hyphenate,” and while most things overused and trendy I usually have an aversion to, that resonated with me. I’m a portrait and content photographer and an artist; I’m skilled in retouching, branding; marketing, and writing.
I’ve been a professional photographer for 5 years and shooting as a hobby for the better part of my life. Photography is something that gives me an immense amount of joy and I love every opportunity I have to create with people.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the three qualities, skills or areas of knowledge that have most served me most up until now and that have been most impactful for me would be a meditation practice, physical health and humor.
I use meditation, specifically Transcendental Meditation, as a tool to stay in the everlasting now and to shut out the inner self-saboteur. It creates a mental stillness which affords me the ability to focus and feel causative.
Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, it’s connected me to my higher power in such a profound and spiritual way — more than any other spiritual practice I’ve experienced this time around — which has created such a calm happiness and true sense gratitude for me in my life.
Secondly, having been previously significantly overweight, staying active and fit has completely transformed my life in all areas and in every aspect. I am a completely different person and all for the better. I am kinder to myself and others; I am filled with gratitude and compassion every day and understand the importance of that, and have been gifted a great sense of mental health as a result of prioritizing my physical health.
Lastly, something that’s served me exponentially is my sense of humor and gaiety. Life is so dark and weird, and equally beautiful and enchanting, but it’s also really really stupid sometimes, and I think the lighter we are about it and the more we’re able to laugh at ourselves, the easier the ride is.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
As someone who tends to “overserve” themselves with things to do and agree to things I may not actually have the time to do, I can get myself feeling overwhelmed pretty quickly.
How I get out of that feeling… well, first I procrastinate; then after I’ve gotten that out of my system, I prioritize my list of things that I need to get done by importance and by how long something will take. If something doesn’t take long, but it might not be as important, I may do that less important thing first to check it off the list and lessen my load; that seems to help with feeling less overwhelmed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.edendozier.com
- Instagram: @edendozier
Image Credits
Eden Dozier
